@time

The pandemic has forced many Americans to reckon with their mortality in new ways. Since COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, organizations that support and train U.S. death doulas have seen significant spikes in membership. A death doula is an end-of-life coach who helps the terminally ill be at peace with dying. Besides a whole lot of compassion, not much is required to become a death doula. During a recent day’s work with a woman who had stopped treatments for breast cancer, death doula Tracy Yost helped her jot down stories to share with her children about her childhood visits to her family in Italy. When she noticed how animated the woman had become, Yost pulled up Google maps so they could virtually walk through the same mountain village where her grandparents lived. The woman cried as the memories came flooding back. “The gift of time is what makes doula work so special and meaningful,” says Angela Shook, president of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. Read more at the link in our bio. Photographs by September Dawn Bottoms (@septemberdawnbo) for TIME

February 06, 2022